The restaurant remains busy during the breakfast, lunch and dinner hours on weekdays. It’s open six days a week and closes after lunch on Saturdays.

Regulars continue coming back for the consistency and quality of the food and reasonable prices, Maroules said.

“It’s all about the quality of the food,” he said. “I would not put anything on the line that I wouldn’t eat.”

Lunch and dinner are served cafeteria-style, while breakfast is served at the tables until 11 a.m.

“It’s a cafeteria-style restaurant with a real laid-back atmosphere,” Matt Maroules said. “Lots of people come in just to have a cup of coffee and chill out.”

The restaurant has a full breakfast menu with Belgian waffles, French toast, pancakes, any kind of omelets and even pork brains and eggs.

“All of the meats are top quality,” Maroules said. “… We (have) amazing homemade biscuits. Everything in the store is cooked fresh daily.”

Daily specials with sides and drink may change up daily. Some items are so popular they are offered frequently as a special, such as fried chicken. Specials may include baked chicken, cheeseburgers and barbecued ribs. Other items may include baked lasagna and neck bones and potatoes.

“There’s a lot of love in every plate that goes out,” Maroules said.

Customers may call in and take out. If take-out patrons have difficulties getting out of their car to pick up an order, Maroules said they simply have to tell him so when they order and let him know when they pull up and he will carry their orders out to their cars.

The restaurant also offers off-site catering.

Christopher’s, 217 N. Queen St., is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For information, call 252-527-3716 or 252-527-5046.

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Jordan Carter, 23, and his parents, Roger and Barbara Carter, are looking to help people purchase a used car at Money Motors, regardless of their circumstances.

“We like to help people rebuild their credit,” Jordan Carter said.

The family-run business, just a couple of miles south of U.S. 70 on N.C. 11/55, opened in June offering guaranteed credit approval.

First-time car buyers, the unemployed or people living on Social Security or disability may frequently have trouble getting the financing they need to purchase transportation.

The Carter family offers in-house and third-party financing.

“We take any credit,” Carter said, “but my overall goal is to help (customers) build their credit for the future.”

The Carters buy their cars from wholesalers, and all the cars they purchase are inspected by local mechanics.

They carry a wide assortment of cars, vans, mini-vans and SUVs ranging from about $2,000 to $14,000.

“I try to have a little bit of everything,” Carter said, adding that warranties are available for purchase.